The Christian faith is centered around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It began with a small group of followers, but has since become one of the most successful spiritual missions in human history. Christianity is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and is the largest religion in the world with about 2.8 billion followers. It is believed that Jesus is the Son of God, whose coming as messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and narrated in the New Testament.
Christians believe that God is the source of all things, and reject any form of dualism. Among those who identify with a religion, there have been few changes in religious belief. People affiliated with a religious tradition are just as likely to say that religion is very important in their lives and to believe in heaven. They are also equally likely to believe in God, although the proportion of adults affiliated with the religion who believe in God with absolute certainty has declined slightly.
When seeking guidance on issues of good and evil, a plurality of Americans say they rely primarily on their common sense and personal experiences. However, there has been a notable increase in the proportion of adults affiliated with the religion who say they come to its religious teachings for guidance. Adults say that religion is at least “something important” in their lives, and more than half (53%) say it's “very important”. Roughly one in five say that religion “isn't too important” (11%) or “it's not at all important” (11%).
For Americans who are affiliated with religion, the importance that people attach to religion varies slightly depending on religious tradition. Approximately eight out of ten or more Jehovah's Witnesses (90%), members of historically black Protestant churches (85%), Mormons (84%) and evangelical Protestants (79%) say that religion is very important in their lives. These numbers have remained almost the same in recent years. There is considerable variation in the way in which members of different religious groups conceive of God.
For example, seven out of ten Christians think of God as a person with whom people can have a relationship, while only about a quarter of people who belong to non-Christian religions (26%) share this view. Among non-Christian religions, it is more common to see God as an impersonal force. Among people not affiliated with religion, approximately three out of ten (31%) say that God is an impersonal force, a quarter say that God is better to see him as a person, and a third say that God does not exist. However, among the subgroup of religious “no” who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” and who also say that religion is very or something important in their lives, a small majority (53%) say they believe in a personal God. Roughly seven out of ten Americans (72%) believe in “a heaven where people who have led a good life are eternally rewarded”.
Belief in heaven is almost universal among Mormons (95%) and members of the historically black Protestant tradition (93%). Belief in heaven is also widespread among evangelical Protestants (88%), Catholics (85%), Orthodox Christians (81%) and mainstream Protestants (80%). The only groups in which far less than half say they believe in heaven are Jews (40%) and unaffiliated groups (37%). While relatively few atheists or agnostics believe in heaven, a large proportion of those whose religion is “nothing” in particular and who also say that religion is at least something important in their lives believe in heaven (72%).Belief in hell is more common among members of historically black Protestant churches (82%) and evangelical Protestant churches (82%).
Slightly fewer Catholics (63%), Mormons (62%), majority Protestants (60%) and Orthodox Christians (59%) say they believe in hell. The majority of evangelical Protestants (55%) and members of historically black Protestant churches (59%) believe that the Bible should be taken literally, but fewer Christians from other traditions defend a literalist view of the Bible. There has been little change in recent years in the proportion of Christians who believe that the Bible should be interpreted literally, word for word. Respondents who are affiliated with a religion were asked to choose one of the three statements that best reflected their point of view on how their religion should relate to modernity. A plurality of Americans affiliated with religion (46%) believe that their religion should “preserve traditional beliefs and practices”. A third (34%) say that their congregation or denomination should “adjust traditional beliefs and practices in the light of new circumstances”.
Only 14% of people who are affiliated with a religious tradition say that their religion should “adopt modern beliefs and practices”.The majority of Mormons (70%), Jehovah's Witnesses (60%), evangelical Protestants (61%) and members of historically black Protestant churches (59%) believe that their religion should preserve traditional beliefs and practices.
